The Journey of the Family Tree

Here was a 'first try'... on designing a Torah mantel for a family tree.
This was our first attempt, it was nice, but totally not refined yet! So, we went back to the drawing board...

A few more attempts, and we were getting closer to the vision I had in my head. and I wanted to share this with the donor, who purchased this Torah mantel
Here's what I wrote to the donor:

"Chodesh tov and Shavua tov!
B"H, we've been trying a bit of this and a bit of that and here are my two favourite contenders so far. (Still not 100% done).
Rimonim add a sense of chayus, shefa and assissiyut. And the birds add a sense of She'ifa, always yearning for higher and better Avodas Hashem.
What do you think of the color schemes and the placement of the names?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Best,
Chana"

So, we were almost there!
We added in a stream of water and even more 'chayus' in the sense of pomegranates, leaves and flowers...

And we based the color theme on an Atara that the wife embroidered for her son.
So this is really HER color palette, which made this whole project more personal.

After many “back and forth”s on email and refining the design, I present you the Family Tree mantel, held by one lucky lady at the Kotel!
Commissioned (as a surprise!) by her husband in honor of her 50th birthday.

Note the navy blue fabric, on the one hand, navy blue is a 'classic' color choice for Torah mantels...
On the other hand, we went with a fresh and modern woven fabric, instead of the standard velvet.

Her daughter, who is also an artist, chose these stunning summery tones to add lots of 'chayus' to the Family Tree.

Needless to say, Mrs. E. was extremely touched by this meaningful gift!